On the quiet morning of December 7, 1941, light cruiser USS St. Louis lay anchored at Pearl Harbor, her crew preparing for a weekend leave. Maintenance had left her boilers cold, her guns silent, and her antennas inactive. It seemed like just another day.

Bill Canavan, ready to go ashore, heard the unmistakable rattle of gunfire from above. Initially, he thought it was another drill—a routine exercise among many. As he rushed to the deck, he saw the olive-drab aircraft marked with the rising sun emblem of Japan. This was no drill.

Hell broke loose over Pearl Harbor a second later. With most of the crew ready to leave, Canavan and many of the crew took their battle stations as the captain ordered the ship to prepare to move despite being underpowered and undermanned.

The harbor was a scene of devastation, filled with the wreckage of American ships and a swarm of Japanese fighters attacking from above. Anti-aircraft guns blazed as the boat maneuvered through the inferno. Enemy aircraft targeted St. Louis, but her gunners struck back, downing two fighters as they raced through the channel.
Just as the ship seemed to break free and the crew began cheering, spotters sighted a Japanese submarine waiting outside the harbor. Abruptly, she launched two torpedoes and then began streaking toward St. Louis.

Only a reef stood as the ship’s defense, and there was little room to maneuver. Was Lucky Lou’s luck running out?

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